“I told you. I have nowhere else to be but here with you.” I grabbed her hand again, entwining our fingers. “Do you want me to put one leg on the floor to make it like we’renotreally in bed together?”
She swatted my chest after I waggled my eyebrows.
I followed her upstairs, her hand still in mine, and a wave of guilt snuck up on me. She was vulnerable, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was taking advantage. She was so open, almost affectionate, but I was fairly certain once she felt better, the walls would go right back up.
She plucked the remote from the edge of the nightstand and turned on the TV before handing it to me.
“You can watch whatever you want. I’ll be out in a few minutes, anyway.” She didn’t meet my eyes before crawling on top of the bed and settling on her side.
“You can’t blame sickness for that.” A smile pulled at my lips as I kicked off my sneakers. “You never lasted past opening credits on any movie we rented.” I fell onto the bed and started searching channels. “Netflix and chill with us was Netflix and snooze.”
She huffed out a laugh followed by a coughing fit. I sat up to pat her back until she settled down.
“Do you need your inhaler?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered and cupped my cheek. “Wasn’t always snooze, though.” Her sleepy smirk gutted me.
“No,” I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “No, it wasn’t.”
Her chest rose and fell with a heavy sigh before her breathing slowed. I shifted slightly away when her arm snaked around my waist and pulled me back. I wasn’t sure if she was asleep when her head drooped into the crook of my shoulder, but I gently lifted my arm and drew her into my side.
It still felt like stealing, but I rested my chin on top of her head and my heavy eyes closed, joy mixing with despair over a dream of Thea that was already too good to wake up from.
24
Thea
I wokeup to a sheen of sweat draped over most of my body, my pajamas sticking to every inch of me when I stretched out my arms and legs.
Relief flooded through me, since this usually meant the worst of the stupid infection was over, but then my sleepy eyes fell on the arm around my waist.
Dominic was fast asleep on top of the sheets, his grip on me still tight as I tried to slip from his hold. That seemed to be our theme this summer.
Instead of getting up, I rested my head on his shoulder, brushing the matted hair off of his forehead with the tip of my finger. Whatever he used to slick it back had worn off as his hair stuck up every which way around his head. The top button of his polo shirt was open, offering a teasing glimpse of the dusting of hair on his chest.
The urge to cuddle into him and press my lips to that tiny spot right before I reached inside his shirt and skimmed my fingertips down his torso, as I’d done countless times, almost overpowered me as I still didn’t have the energy to fight it.
Rather than lament my lapse in judgment and ignoring the knee jerk reaction to push him away again, I didn’t regret a damn thing. I nestled into his side and breathed him in, thankfully with somewhat clearer nostrils, enjoying it without worrying about what it all meant.
A growly moan vibrated against my cheek.
“It’s not very polite to ogle someone as they sleep.” His arm tightened around my waist before he kissed the top of my head.
I didn’t attempt a feeble denial, only smiled when his eyes opened and met mine.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip, the too familiar greeting both slicing me open and causing my heart to swell.
“Good morning to you, too. Thank you for staying and for, for everything.”
He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his other hand.
“No need to thank me, I’m happy to be here. You look a lot better, how are you feeling?” His fingers threaded through my still-damp tangles.
“Much better. Antibiotics usually work fast.”
And the sweet, tender loving care my stubborn self was able to accept for a change.
